1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to processing A/V streams and, more particularly, to synchronizing A/V streams, for example high definition A/V streams.
2. Description of the Related Art
Audio and video streams that are related to each other can be transmitted together, for example, by using a single HDMI or MHL cable. When the audio and video streams are to be rendered on separate devices, they may need to be synchronized. For example, a movie program with both audio and video streams can be transmitted from a single playback device, e.g., a Blu-ray player to an A/V splitter. The A/V splitter transmits the video stream to an HDTV display and separately transmits the audio stream to a receiver/speakers. An HDTV display will usually require a longer processing time to display the video stream than the receiver/speakers to amplify and produce audio. As a result, the audio and video playback may not be synchronized.
To address this problem, one solution is for the A/V splitter to add delay to the audio stream in order to compensate for the longer processing time required for the video stream. However, this solution requires that the A/V splitter have the capability to both calculate the required delay and add the delay to the A/V stream. The A/V splitter does not always have this capability.
Thus, there is a need for better approaches to synchronize A/V streams.